Menstrual cycle phase - Summer
Welcome to the third week of your menstrual summer, when we finally reach the summer! This is a time when everything is bursting with life – summer is in bloom and it can be a really awesome time. Life should feel easier and more enjoyable, and you can take more on.
Photo credit Frank Vessia
Ovulation
The focus of this phase is ovulation - your oestrogen reaches its peak levels, triggering LH and testosterone to be released. The rise in LH triggers ovulation by causing your matured follicle to rupture and release the egg, and oestrogen levels to dip. If you’re using ovulation predictor kits, this rise in LH is what they’re measuring - ovulation will occur about 24-36 hours later.
During ovulation the egg ruptures from the follicle and is released into your abdominal cavity, where your fallopian tube catches it. You can look up images of this on a search engine and it looks incredible.
Many women notice a light pop or twinge on ovulation – or even get ovulation pain. You shouldn’t feel any pain during ovulation that is bad enough for you to need painkillers, so if you do, you need to raise it with your doctor. It could suggest ovarian cysts, endometriosis or a sexually transmitted disease like chlamydia.
If you’re charting your temperature you may notice a dip around this time before it jumps right up after ovulation.
A word about your mucus
Observing changes in your mucus is a way of finding out about your ovulation, and it’s very useful to follow the changes if you want to become pregnant.
Cervical mucus is produced by your cervix, and is influenced by oestrogen and progesterone; as oestrogen increases it stimulates your cervix to produce mucus which is called estrogenic mucus, or e-type mucus. A healthy cycle would mean you have this type of mucus for about 5 days before ovulation. This is your fertile window, meaning it’s possible to become pregnant when you have sex on a day when you have this type of mucus.
After ovulation, when progesterone becomes dominant and remains high until just before your period, progesterone stops the e-type mucus being produced and instead makes your cervix produce a thick, gelatinous mucus plug; these are your dry days and when your underwear may look crusty.
The lining of your cervical canal, which lies at the base of your uterus, has lots of folds and creases called cervical crypts. The cells in these crypts are really sensitive to changes in oestrogen and progesterone and will produce increasing amounts of mucus as your oestrogen levels increase towards ovulation. Normally, you produce 20-60mg of mucus a day.
When you become fertile, this increases by up to 20 times that, which means you’ll notice an obvious change – it resembles egg white; it is clear, stretchy and slippery. You will feel lubricated and wet - a stark difference to the cloudy, white and absolutely not stretchy mucus that you may notice during the rest of your cycle.
Normally the bacteria in the vagina keep the pH at quite an acidic 3.5-4.9, but in such an environment, sperm can only live for a couple of hours. They are used to more alkaline condition of somewhere between 7.2 to 8.4 pH in the testes. This means that when you’re not fertile, your mucus actually kills any sperm that arrives. Conversely, fertile mucus contains enzymes, protein chains and other compounds including sodium, chloride and potassium that collectively help to keep sperm alive.
As the sperm pass through the cervix they go through a process called capacitation, and they aren’t able to fertilise an egg until this has happened - but mucus helps this process happen. Also, as they swim through the mucus, they undergo physiological changes that improve their motility and make it possible for them to penetrate an egg. This is incredible!
Ovulation tends to happen on the last day that you produce mucus and, once you have ovulated, the empty follicle from where your egg hatched (the corpus luteum) produces progesterone. Progesterone levels rise and this dries up your mucus. So this shift from fertile mucus to no fertile mucus confirms that ovulation has happened.
Paying attention to your mucus helps you identify and act quickly if something is wrong that you may not become aware of otherwise. These signs may suggest yeast or bacterial infections, something more serious like cervical cells growing abnormally or where they shouldn’t be, or a lack of ovulation. If your mucus is…
Yellowish in colour
Gummy or gluey appearance
Gushes in watery discharge
Smelly
Or you notice no change in mucus
…you need to get this checked by your GP or gynaecologist.
Photo credit Mateus Campos Felipe
Active and productive
This peaking of oestrogen is likely to mean you feel more active, sleep better, and are more creative. You can more easily be in a state of flow, with an inner strength and flexibility, allowing you to adjust and go with whatever is thrown at you. You may feel capable and confident and at your most sexy– you’ll be feeling good and looking good.
The ultimate aim of our body’s is about procreation and populating the world, so in the run up to ovulation the changes in our bodies tie in with our behaviour, to help us get laid and pregnant - we tend to be more active and interested in the world in order to explore and meet our mate.
Now is the time to push your personal best, lifting an extra 10kg, run an extra length of your park, or nail that meeting.
We can also feel more dynamic – we can somehow do more. We feel as if we’re firing on all cylinders. This would be a great time for giving presentations, impressing clients, acing your parenting skills and flying through your to-do list.
Sleep
You should be able to get better quality of sleep now, although like summer, where the days are longer and nights shorter, you may be able to get by on less sleep more easily.
Creative
As well as feeling more creative, you’re likely to feel more confident, adaptable and talkative so you put yourself out there. You may notice that you’re able to articulate your thoughts and feelings more clearly and confidently. This is the time to stretch yourself, both personally and professionally.
Similarly, you may feel as if you can handle much more so this would be the time to have your in-laws or your own parents to stay, give that big presentation, have a tricky conversation or face a challenging a situation with grace and energy.
Photo credit Yoann Boyer
Sex appeal
Of course it makes sense that you feel more horny. You may notice feeling a deeper sense of attraction to your partner, but also with all the benefits from the increase in oestrogen you will be more sexually attractive as well as feel more confident and expansive. Now is the time to go on a first date or to reconnect with your partner; it is the time to flirt!
As well as having more desire for sex, actually having it now may feel most enjoyable. Your cervix has changed from being low, firm and closed to being soft, high, open, and wet, making penetrative sex more comfortable. Orgasms may come more easily and quickly.
It’s not just about feeling sexual. You may notice that you’re in the mood for fun and pleasure and feeling turned on by life, as well as having more capacity for feeling loving and open. This is definitely the time to have a full diary and enjoy being at your most sociable.
Summer self-care
For some women, this time is all too short, especially if you have Pre-Menstrual Dysmorphic Disorder (PMDD), which is an extreme form of PMS and can make life very challenging.
Here are a self-care tips to help you feel your best and prepare you for the next phase…
Do make sure you are sociable. Some women may find it feels essential and it is rejuvenating and can carry you through.
High circulating oestrogen levels may mean that you can go longer between meals and may not need to eat as much because it may suppress your appetite, but once you ovulate and progesterone levels start soaring, your appetite may increase and you could be more prone to unstable blood sugar and the swings that result; make sure you are having protein and fat with each meal to keep your energy and mood stable.
If you have a post-ovulation collapse (you’re depleted and down in the dumps), take time to evaluate whether you’re looking after yourself sufficiently. Maybe you are pushing yourself too much and not eating enough, or getting swept away in the can-do energy of your summer, so you end up neglecting your needs. This includes alcohol, which can increase oestrogen levels leading to a sharper drop after ovulation.
If you suffer with heavy periods, sore breasts, bloating and other PMS symptoms, it’s possible (indeed probable) that your levels of oestrogen are too high and/or you’re not breaking it down in the healthiest way. Make sure you eat cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, Cavalo Nero, rocket and watercress, which steer the oestrogen, as you break it down in your liver, down the healthiest route, which may help alleviate these symptoms. The most potent source of the compounds that do this are found in sprouted broccoli seeds, so look out for these and ideally have a handful daily - in salads, on soups and stews, or just mixed with lemon and seasoning.